Peter Oren w/ American Elm 7/23/18 Cafe 9

Local singer songwriter Chris Bousquet plays under the moniker of American Elm. Armed with an acoustic guitar, AE played heartfelt original tunes. Chris played a hauntingly beautiful number that he  usually " fucks up" and leaves out of the set. Another tune about blacking out in a hospital bathroom was excellent. AE brought local musician Frank Critelli on stage to sing  on the final two songs. I recall seeing AE years ago, and it seemed that he abstained from playing out in recently. Positive crowd response may mean more gigs for AE.
Peter Oren is a singer songwriter from Columbus, Indiana home to the Cummins Engine company. He has a beautiful husky alto voice that reminded me of Terry Callier, Richie Havens, and the guy from Tindersticks. Environmentally conscious, progressive, anti-corporate are not qualities usually associated with Indiana, but Peter seems to be an atypical Hoosier. The group was a trio with Peter on guitar and vocals, a lefty guitarist, and a guy who played pedal steel and bass. The songs were slow and deliberate with the voice as a focal point. The inter song banter was great, Peter told one story of daydreaming about Molotov cocktailling an expensive car ( he has problems with wealth), another story about him puking and passing out at a party at Mike Pence's niece's house was hysterical. Final song was an ode to Crescent Lake in Washington state, which detailed a fond memory for Peter.

Body/Head w/ Gunn-Truscinski Duo and Stefan Christtensen The Grove New Haven 7/21/18

First opener Christensen was a solo noise drone artist that played guitar and effects. Seated behind an etch-a-sketch type gadget, Stefan seemed to have two songs going simultaneously. The effects laid down a noisy static while SC sang plaintively and played guitar, it sounded like a song that was playing on AM radio with the station slightly off tune. Another tune sounded as if the audience was under a train trestle.
Gunn-Truscinski Duo is guitar wizard Steve Gunn and drummer John(?) Truscinski. Steve Gunn's "Way Out Weather" release a few years back was amazing. In this incarnation, Gunn played noisy guitar over Truscinski's mallet heavy drumming. Steve has big eyes and a child-like savant demeanor and seemed to have his gaze locked on the drummer so as to telepathically goose the improv. Songs had noisy sequences, raga sections, that gave way to downright melodic portions. These guys have played together for years and it shows.
Body/Head is the duo of Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon and experimental guitarist Bill Nace. I have seen Sonic in many venues (Toads Place, a horse barn at Umass, and opening for Neil Young at a large arena, among others) so it made sense to check out the current configuration. Gordon and Nace played noisy guitar in front of a video screen that showed a tectonically paced section of a 70s-era Elliot Gould movie. Gordon sang unintelligibly in front of the squall. While the previous duo were focused on each other, these two seemed to ignore each other. The relatively small room was well attended for a Saturday night, and Body/Head gave my earplugs a run for their money. DJ Karen from Redscroll Records spun platters between sets which added to the hip vibe.

Green River Festival 7/15/18 Grenfield MA

Day two of this weekend affair:
Ballroom Thieves: Duo with young man on guitar and vocals with young female on cello/ vocals.
Trailer Park w/ Samirah Evans: Tight Nawlins funk outfit with spark plug Evans on vocals.
The Brother Brothers: Dumb name for duo of cello and fiddle in the small tent.
Chuck Prophet w/ Strings: Chuck trying to outdo previous day's performance by playing acoustic in front of a string quartet. Did a reprise of "The Left Hand And The Right Hand" and an amazing cover of John Prine's Classic "Angel From Montgomery". This quartet had to be local musicians who learned the charts quickly to back Prophet. Great banter about Halloween in the Castro section of San Francisco, where he hails from.
I'm With Her: Allstar female trio with Sarah Jarosz on fiddle and mandolin, Sarah Watkins (of Nickel Creek fame) on fiddle and acoustic, and Aoife O'Donovan ( of Crooked Still fame) on acoustic. Great three part vocal harmony with a true democratic supergroup. Worth digging deeper into all three women's output, recently heard Jarosz doing an excellent re-work of Joanna Newsom's "The Book of Right On". I'm pretty sure I heard an Adelle song in this set.
James Hunter Six: Looked forward to hearing this Brit-soul singer and his Van Morrison-like renderings of pop chestnuts. Great band and smoking guitar work from Hunter made for an enjoyable set. Good cover of "Bonie Maronie".
Robert Earl Keen: Veteran country/folk singer songwriter thought it would be a good idea to wear white jeans and a green shiny shirt that looked like the material came from a parachute. Tight band and some classics to pull from made up for the fashion blunder.
Ana Tijoux: Chilean rap singer Tijoux closed out the second stage. Her sultry rhymes were all in her native tongue. Ana's limited English took a dimension of this music away from non-Latin speakers like myself.
Old Crow Medicine Show: I remember seeing this group when they just started, but now have to call them a veteran folk-bluegrass outfit. OCMS  was a good close-out to this wonderful weekend. Their hit "Wagon Wheel" is always a show stopper. I highly recommend this festival for its size, selection of acts, and overall logistics. As you can see, I got a lot of music in these two days.

Green River Festival 7/14/18 Greenfield MA

Saturday proceedings at this annual go-to festival:
The Mammals: Veteran folkies from Woodstock showcased recent release  with a good tune about climate change and a screwed-down Aretha Franklin cover.
Big Mean Sound Machine: Instrumental Afro-beat group ( maybe from Chicago?) had a nice full sound. The female trombonist was great.
Birds Of Chicago: Duo of acoustic guitar and banjo/clarinet were quiet in the small tent.
Lucy Dacus: Critically acclaimed guitarist/vocalist had songs that started slow but crescendoed loud.
Deer Tick: Providence stalwarts showed that they are still rocking. This band is not afraid to turn it to 11. Did a great Pogues cover and a heart-wrenching version of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful".
Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express: Chuck has played this festival several times, spewing his trademark blend of Frisco-centric snarkiness. Gave a full band treatment to classics like "Storm Across The Sea" and "The Left Hand and The Right Hand", an ode to two brothers who owned a strip club. Chuck thought it would be a good idea for the audience to cajole the festival promoters into "getting the Kinks here next year".
Femi Kuti and The Positive Force: Son of Afro-beat legend Fela, Femi came with a large band with costumes and dancers carrying the flame. Behind a new release that is getting good reviews, Femi's high energy output was great.
Bella's Bartok: Regional gypsy-swing Rock outfit always puts on a great show. With horns and accordion and two charismatic front men, they displayed Eastern European traditional music with a rock and roll touch. A dancing lemur and a one-eyed monster made for a crowded stage presence.
Dr. Dog: Sophisticated pop from Philly have been at it for 10 years. Some of the young people in the crowd seemed to know most of the tunes, which is a good sign.
Marco Benevento: Scroll back in the blog a few months to get a positive review of Marco and talented bass player Karina. She seemed relaxed singing The Butthole Surfers classic "Pepper". Highlight of the day was Marco's take on Pink Floyd's "Fearless" that flowed into "Bennie and The Jets", back to "Fearless"... Wow.
Michael Franti and Spearhead: It has been a long time since the socially conscious Spearhead released the amazing "Stay Human" record. His newfound pop pivot is outweighed by his positive spirit, that oozes optimism, which is a rare commodity in today's world.

Erin Rae 7/9/18 Cafe 9

While driving to this show, the title track from Gillian Welch's "Time The Revelator" appeared on my playlist. Nashville singer songwriter Rae reminded me of a cross between Gillian and Emmylou Harris. Great, confident voice on this set of all original tunes. The band was hipster Nashville with organ, drums, bass, guitar/vocals, and Rae on guitar and lead vocals. She said she played this venue in 2015 with her "friend" Spoken Nerd. Songs unfolded with a folk country feel before Rae's stellar vocals kicked in. The guitar player was great too, he had a penchant for vibrato or tremolo, his whole body shook with each note he played to give the distinctive quaver. Anyone who is a fan of Welch or Harris should check out Erin Rae.

Sammy Miller and The Congregation Wesleyan CFA Courtyard 7/5/18

Wesleyan always puts on a free outdoor show on a summer weekday evening. Sammy and company were an assemblage of jazz poofters playing their shtick on a beautiful summer evening. Sammy on drums and vocals was joined by organ, upright bass, trumpet, sax, and a gregarious trombone player. They started out by playing the Looney Tunes Theme, which was apt. This crew could play and had a sense of humor, the inter-song banter was comical and a decent crowd rolled in for the affair. At one point, Sammy talks of keeping the Jazz tradition alive for the next generation by fusing it with...rock and roll, no...hiphop, nah... opera?! That's right, Jopera, tunes that are always "longer than you want them to be." Sammy starts singing as the goofy trombone player dons a dress and a blond wig. The other musicians get into character (and costume) as the Jopera jazzily reaches a climax. The show closed with an excellent schmaltzy version of My One And Only Love, and ended with a rousing Nawlins second line number.

The War On Women 7/2/18 Cafe 9

Maryland aggro-punk collective War On Women played a brief gnarly set at the 9. The resume includes the Vans Warped tour which tells a lot. I knew to grab the earplugs when my car was shaking while parking two blocks up the street from the club. WOW were a quintet, three front females on lead vocals and yelping, bass, and rhythm guitar, with a male skinhead on lead and an African American male on drums. The drummer was shirtless and ripped and provided the high octane motor for the group. The singer prowled and growled in a manner of The Minutemen or Husker Du. Comparisons to the riot grrl progenitors Bikini Kill are apt, and the lead singer's "don't fuck with me" mentality is like Kathleen Hanna from that band. The crowd, New Haven's finest face metal, autistically bobbed and sang along with each tune. This brings me to the political part of the story. WOW coalesced in synchronicity with the #metoo movement fueled by the misogynist in the White House. Feminist punk seems like a lonely genre, but the chorus of "Fuck Trump" between songs made me realize I was among friendlys. Towards the end of the show, the traditional punk circle formed with bearded white outsiders pushing and flailing to the music. The message from WOW was distinctly liberal (here's a song about trans rights), but the vocal delivery of this genre is kind of unintelligible. This leads me to the current state of the Democratic Party.  The underlying message may resonate with many, but the delivery is heard by a few.